


Are We on A Date Right Now?

by garcias_bitch



Series: Are We on a Date ‘Verse [1]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: And a kith, Fluff, M/M, Minor Angst, Spencer needs a hug, mentions of Jennifer Jareau, mentions of Penelope Garcia - Freeform, mentions of child abduction, spencer gets a hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-12 20:48:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28516674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/garcias_bitch/pseuds/garcias_bitch
Summary: Spencer has a hard time coping with a case. Aaron notices.
Relationships: Aaron Hotchner/Spencer Reid
Series: Are We on a Date ‘Verse [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2133258
Comments: 8
Kudos: 119





	Are We on A Date Right Now?

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is literally my first time writing that isn't for school so please be nice lmao  
> I would really appreciate any and all feedback!!

TW: mentions of child abduction

It had been a long case. Four children had been abducted from the same street, leaving the team to deal with four extremely emotional sets of parents who meant well, but got in the way of the investigation.  
  
They got lucky this time, though. Well, lucky may not be the right word. The kids were alive, families reunited, but the lasting damage on those kids… It was too much for Spencer to think about. These cases always got to him, more so after finding the truth about Riley Jenkins.  
  
Hotch looked up from his work to check on his teammates. He always felt an overwhelming sense of responsibility for them, no matter where they were. Especially Reid. He noticed Spencer staring into space out the jet window, looking as if a light breeze might push the tears from his eyes. Hotch knew that Spencer often retreated into himself after a difficult case such as this, and it would result in Spencer refusing to reach out to anyone and him harboring his emotions. This meant someone would have to reach out to him.  
  
Hotch slid out of his seat and into the one opposite Spencer. Looking at the man in front of him, he couldn’t believe that this is what had come of the kid Gideon had brought him. “Reid,” he whispered, trying to get his attention without waking any of his sleeping teammates. Reid startled and made eye contact before looking away and wiping the tears from his eyes. Hotch had every intention of starting a conversation with Reid and working through this issue on the spot, but when he went to speak, all that came out of his mouth was “come to dinner with me tonight.” Spencer looked up at his boss with wide eyes, surprised at the request, and nodded, not trusting that his voice wouldn’t break if he spoke. Hotch smiled at him and relaxed back into his seat.  
  
\-----  
  
The jet landed at 3 am, but Aaron had every intention of holding true on his plans with Spencer. Once they were both settled in the front of Hotch’s SUV, heat all the way up because December in Virginia is cold, Aaron asked Spencer where he wanted to go for dinner. “There’s this super good Indian restaurant. It’s a little ways away, but it’s open 24 hours and they have amazing chicken tandoori. If that’s ok with you, of course,” he had replied, blushing. Aaron knew of the place Spencer was talking about, he had heard him talking to Seaver and Morgan about it a few weeks before, and immediately looked it up. Hotch decided tonight sounded like a wonderful night to be eating Indian at 3 am and smiled and put the car in reverse in lieu of responding.  
  
Reid rambled about who knows what the whole way to the restaurant, and Hotch just smiled. He loved hearing Spencer ramble happily, it always seemed like the man was completely in his element. When they stopped at a stoplight Hotch finally looked over at Spencer and decided that maybe watching was better than just listening. It was in that moment that Hotch realized that this little crush he had on his subordinate may be getting out of hand.  
  
Entering the restaurant, Hotch held the door open for Reid, telling him to find them a seat, he would order for them. Reid smiled back at him shyly, looking please that Hotch knew him well enough to be able to place their order without asking what he wanted. Hotch stepped up to the counter and placed an order for two servings of chicken tandoori, assuming that if it was good enough for Spencer, it was good enough for him. He looked around to find Reid, deciding that if he didn’t start their conversation about the case now, he probably wouldn’t.  
  
Sitting down, he looked at Reid and said, “talk to me.” “About what,” Spencer replied attempting to appear as if he had no idea what his boss was talking about. Aaron gave him a look that said that Spencer should know exactly what he meant, and he did. He just wasn’t sure if he was ready to talk about it. Spencer finally heaved a sigh and broke their eye contact, having lost the intense stare down that had begun between them. “I’m not exactly sure what bothers me so much about these cases,” he began. “It’s not like I’ve been through anything that allows me to relate to the victims, nor do I have any children of my own to imagine in their place. I don’t know what the reason is Hotch, but I do know that these cases take so much out of me that I can’t let myself feel right now or I’m going to break down.” Hotch vaguely heard their order number being called in the background. He waited until Spencer made eye contact with him again and silently stood, motioning for Spencer to follow him. He grabbed their order and walked out. After securing their food in the back seat of the car, he rounded the front of it coming around to stand in front of Spencer. Spencer was beginning to worry that he had said something wrong when Hotch pulled him into a bone crushing hug, placing his hand on the back of Spencer’s neck. “Let go, Spencer. You can feel. I’m not going to judge you for breaking down. It’s okay to be upset, you don’t always need to have a reason. These cases get to all of us, whether we are able to relate to them or not. Children are so innocent, they do no wrong, but these monsters still do unthinkable things to them. Remember that we are the ones that have the privilege of hunting the bastards and putting them in jail. It’s okay to be upset.” It was then that Spencer finally hugged Hotch back, holding onto him as if he were the only thing anchoring him to this reality, succumbing to his tears.  
  
\----  
  
After that night, Aaron realized that Spencer rarely let himself feel like that. He didn’t allow himself to let out the pent-up feelings of anger, grief, and sorrow for the victims of these cases. He decided that he had to be the one to help him let them go. Shared meals became a regular thing for them. They made a habit of going out for lunch together at least once a week and going to dinner to talk things through after particularly rough cases. Hotch even made an effort to invite Spencer to do things with him and Jack, like going to the museum, or the zoo. Aaron could tell that Reid appreciated having an excuse to not be locked up by himself in his apartment, and Jack loved having a walking encyclopedia and his own personal magician.  
  
Once Saturday evening, Aaron decided that he was going to attempt to let Spencer know his feelings. He sent a text saying, “Dinner tonight? Just you and me. No work talk.” Spencer had replied, “That sounds absolutely wonderful. Pick me up at 7?” “I’ll be there.”  
  
\----  
  
Spencer was buttoning his dress shirt when he heard a knock at the door. He had decided that for tonight he wanted to dress more casually than he usually did. Even on his outings with both Aaron and Jack he had opted to wear his usual work clothes. But tonight was different. Aaron had said no work talk. So that meant casual. Spencer had spent a long time thinking about what he was going to wear. He even considered calling Penelope or JJ for advice, but he knew they would demand to know where he was going and with who. He wasn’t sure he was ready to tell them about this yet. He wasn’t even sure he knew what “this” really was. In the end, he settled on a lavender dress shirt with the top few buttons left undone and the sleeves rolled up, and a pair of pressed black slacks. He looked at himself in the mirror one last time before taking a deep breath and going to open the door. When the door was fully opened and he got a good look at his superior, they were both breathless. Hotch was dressed in a similar fashion, his usual work getup without the tie and suit jacket. Aaron caught himself staring and looked up to catch Spencer’s eye. “Good evening,” he greeted with a smile. “Ever the gentleman,” Spencer replied, stepping out of the doorway and allowing Aaron to lead him outside. “Where are we going tonight?” “That’s for me to know, and you to inevitably guess five minutes into the drive there,” Aaron answered, feigning annoyance.  
  
\----  
  
Aaron was right, Spencer did guess. And he was right, of course. Aaron had decided to take him to a small intimate Italian place that Rossi had recommended. When they got there, they talked about anything and everything, except work of course, ranging from JJ’s pregnancy to the topic of the newest paper Spencer was working on. After their meal, they ordered desert. There was a moment after they ordered where the two of them sat in a comfortable silence, contentedly making eye contact, when Aaron rested his hand on top of Spencer’s. Spencer began to move his hand under Aaron’s, and for a brief moment, Aaron had begun to think he made the wrong move. However, Spencer was merely moving his hand to lace his fingers with Aaron’s. “Aaron,” Spencer started. “Spencer,” Aaron replied when Spencer didn’t say anything else. Spencer looked up from their joined hands and said, “Are we on a date right now?” “I sure hope so,” was Aaron’s reply.  
  
\----  
  
When Aaron walked Spencer up to his apartment that night, they stood before the door holding hands and gazing into each other’s eyes (which they obviously knew was a very cheesy cliché). Aaron brought his hand up to cup Spencer’s cheek and glanced down at his lips before looking back into his eyes and saying, “can I kiss you?” And the only answer Spencer could manage was “please.”

**Author's Note:**

> You can follow my on tumblr @garcias-bitch  
> Hopefully more to come :)


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